This invention relates to a fishing apparatus, and more particularly to improved fishing planers which are capable of reaching desired depths at slower trolling speeds and with less ballast weight than otherwise would be required.
Trolling is a very popular and effective method of fishing for fish which may be found at varying depths depending on the species of fish, the time of day, the season of the year, and the water temperature, as well as other factors. In trolling, a lure, attached to a reel line, is pulled through the water behind a moving boat. Often, the highest degree of success is achieved by placing the lure at the deepest depth at which the fish are likely to be found.
Troll fishermen commonly use planers or divers in order to place the lure at a desired depth. Such planers or divers assume a particular angular orientation during trolling to accomplish a desired hydrodynamically induced diving effect and are generally reasonably effective in bringing the lure to the desired depth. The depth to which the planer will bring the lure is determined by a number of factors including the length of the reeling line, the trolling speed, the diameter of the line, the weight of the line, and the weight configuration and buoyancy of the lure. However, prior art divers and planers have some important disadvantages which hamper their effectiveness and make their use more troublesome.
One prior art planer which incorporates a plane body to hydrodynamically bring the planer down to the desired depth and a ballast weight to assist in attaining the desired depth is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,959 to Staaden. The ballast weight of the Staaden device is also used, as typically with most other planers, to also alter the center of gravity of the device in order to keep the planer at the desired angle while being towed for maximum hydrodynamic effect. The Staaden device incorporates a member strip underneath the planer body in order to give structural strength to the bail. Although the Staaden device is made structurally strong to resist the rigors of trolling, it must depend essentially on the flat smooth surface of the planer body and the ballast weight to bring it down to a desired deep depth, and the hydrodynamics of such a shaped planer body require that the planer be towed at a relatively fast speed in order for it to be brought down to a deep depth. A problem exists in that rapid towing speed may be too fast to get the attention of the fish, and consequently the fisherman using such a fast moving planer may have only very limited success in catching the fish. In addition, requiring that the trolling be performed at a relatively fast speed adds to the expense of fishing because of energy costs. Simply adding additional ballast weight to bring it to a lower depth is also impractical and disadvantageous because the increased weight makes it more difficult for the lure and the planer to be brought to the surface again at the end of trolling or when a fish has been caught. Thus, adding additional ballast weight makes it more difficult to play the fish. In addition, this prior art device must be positioned in the water at the proper angle to achieve the required hydrodynamic effect which places it at the desired depth.
Another prior art planer device which uses a somewhat more complicated system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,956 to Neary. The Neary device essentially incorporates a keel to allow the planer to dive vertically as it gets down to the predetermined desired depth. When a fish takes a hook, pressure is applied to a cotter-key to overcome a spring pressure and essentially release a bar holding the plane at a desired position. When this occurs the angle of the plane is altered and the device can be brought to the surface by the towing line. A disadvantage with this device, however, is that it has a somewhat complicated structure and has many surfaces which result in a lot of drag or water resistance. Consequently it presents a lot of resistance to the towing boat, and more directly to the fisherman. In addition, as with the Staaden device, it requires a relatively fast rate of towing to bring it to the desired level. Moreover, the Neary device, with its spring system and keel, is somewhat complicated to manufacture and therefore is more expensive than desired.
Other prior art devices incorporate means to alter the positioning of the ballast weight in order to control the diving angle of the devices. An example of such a prior art plane is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,466,787 to Collins. Lead shot, which is used in a ballast container is shiftable forward when the plate is tilted downward and vice-versa in order to vary the location of the center of gravity of the device. However, this device requires the use of a structure which moves within a slot to shift the weights, and because of this requirement for free sliding movement, any kind of corrosion caused by salt water or other such debris which might get in that area may cause the device to malfunction. In addition, as with the other prior art devices disclosed, the Collins device is not energy efficient and instead requires a fast towing speed in order to bring it to a desired depth.
Other prior art devices have features which allow the user to make adjustments to the planer in order to compensate for lures of various weights and having different drag factors. In addition, such adjustable planers may also allow the planer to be changed from its retrieval position to its dive position while submerged. Thus, such planers need not be taken out of the water in order to reset the planer to its dive position, as in the instance of a fish that has caught the bait but has since been lost. An example of such a prior art device is given in U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,842 to Kalberer. Essentially, the Kalberer planer device utilizes a spring to exert a biasing force on the planer mast which is connected to the reeling line. However, as with the other prior art devices disclosed, the Kalberer planer does not yield an energy efficient diver but instead requires also that the towing boat be moving at a fast rate. In addition, the Kalberer device has another important disadvantage in that it is very complex and therefore expensive to manufacture. This complexity also can introduce a certain amount of unreliability to the device because there is consequently an additional mechanism in the device which can malfunction.
Still other prior art planers such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,970 to Larson, provide the planer body with a particular shape to increase the hydrodynamically induced diving effect. The Larson planer has a cambered lower surface portion and a somewhat less cambered upper surface portion which are designed to increase the forces on the planer body which push it down, thereby enabling it to attain deeper depths. However, a primary disadvantage with such planers is that these increased forces produced by the cambered surfaces also make it more difficult to play the caught fish.
Yet another prior art planer, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,759 to Jensen, utilizes a tripping lever hingedly attached to the planer body and an adjustable magnetic ballast which engages the lever. The magnetic ballast keeps the planer in the dive position until a fish catches the bait and pulls the lever from engagement with the ballast allowing the lever to rotate and align the planer body with the reel line. However, a primary disadvantage with such a device is that salt deposits and corrosion in the hinge connection may prevent proper rotation of the lever, thereby causing malfunction. Thus, such devices require routine cleaning and maintenance and are trouble prone as well as expensive to manufacture due to their complex mechanisms.
A fishing planer is thus needed that will yield its desired hydrodynamic diving effect at relatively slow towing speeds. In addition, a fishing planer is desired that is relatively simple in construction and therefore more trouble-free and less prone to malfunction.